The Brief: March 20, 2014

The Big Conversation

The issue of equal pay dominated the discussion again in the gubernatorial contest on Wednesday. Here's how the day was covered:

• The Houston Chronicle/San Antonio Express-News' Peggy Fikacled off the day with an analysis of the pay differential among men and women in the attorney general's office under Greg Abbott. Her big finding was that among assistant attorneys general, men earned nearly $6,000 more than women. The average pay was higher for men in six of seven job categories. What those numbers mean is up to some interpretation. Fikac talked to one Abbott critic, the Texas Civil Rights Project's Jim Harrington, who called them evidence of a "prima facie case of discrimination." A UT professor, Sandra E. Black, said discrimination is just one of many factors in why "women are underrepresented at the top and doing worse."

• The Dallas Morning News' Christy Hoppe, meanwhile, focused on the Abbott counterattack that Wendy Davis was a hypocrite on the issue because a water district her law firm represented on bond issues successfully defended itself — with different legal representation — against a fair pay lawsuit.

But Hoppe said Abbott's argument ends up in an odd place when taken to its logical conclusion. "It’s gotten so muddled that the Abbott campaign is fighting back by calling Davis hypocritical because her law firm represents the Tarrant Regional Water District as bond counsel. ... Adding to the dotted-line muddle is that the water district won the suit by using the same legal argument employed by Abbott’s Attorney General’s Office in a different lawsuit."

• Abbott also said on Wednesday that he would not have signed the legislation intended to mirror the Lilly Ledbetter Act at the state level. That bill was vetoed last year by Gov. Rick Perry. As The Associated Press reported, "It is an issue that dogged Abbott, the state's current attorney general, who had previously refused to take a position on the issue." The Texas Observer'sChristopher Hooks was skeptical, though, that Abbott's statement would make the conflict go away:

"From a political standpoint, this seems like an incomprehensibly weird move. Will the Davis campaign stop hammering Abbott over this issue now that Abbott has swept away doubt from his position? The opposite! He’s given the Davis campaign — even more than they had before — a clear line to use against Abbott: 'Abbott opposes making it easier for women to demand equal pay.' Pay equity is something women really care about. And he did it, apparently, just hours after a major newspaper raised substantial questions about pay equity at his own office."

The Day Ahead

• Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is in Arlington to take part in a luncheon candidate forum hosted by the Republican Women of Arlington. Dewhurst's challenger in the GOP runoff election, Dan Patrick, is in Dallas over the lunch hour for an appearance with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in front of supporters.

• Join us for a conversation with Kinky Friedman, candidate for agriculture commissioner, at the Austin Club. We will livestream the event beginning at 8 a.m.

Today in the Trib

Among Conservatives, Taxing Districts Create a Rift: "In 2013, developer Don Huffines and state Sen. Ken Paxton backed the expansion of a taxing district in North Texas — a practice that isn’t uncommon, but that has exposed a fiscal rift among conservatives."

Rolando Pablos: The TT Interview: "The CEO of the Borderplex Alliance on what El Paso needs to do to shed its reputation as a hub for low-skilled and low-wage industries, why he thinks the war in Ciudad Juárez is officially over and his thoughts on immigration reform."

Analysis: Runoffs Put Incumbents on the Brink: "For a political challenger, a runoff can be good news: They lived to fight another day. For incumbent officeholders, runoffs are fraught with the idea that voters are shopping for someone new."

Polling Center: Legal Pot in Texas? Snuff the Thought: "Only 28 percent of Texans say they are opposed to legalization of marijuana for any reason. Most would okay it for medicinal use and nearly half would approve it for recreational use. But the state's most conservative voters are not likely to go along."

News From Home

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